Superstar clings to her down-home ethos

By Claudia Puig
USA Today

Some say that 26-year-old Reese Witherspoon is poised to take Julia Roberts' place as America's girl next door. Associated Press photos

"I'm very into this for the grandmas this year for Christmas," she says pointing to the leaflet, which shows oversized handbags adorned with kids' photos. "Taking a picture and turning it into a bag. I saw a girl carrying one the other day, and I thought, 'That's perfect.' It ain't cheap. I think it's like $200. But you know they'll carry it forever."

Even though the 26-year-old is now in Hollywood's upper stratosphere — raking in $15 million for next year's "Legally Blonde 2" — the conversation at the famous Hotel Bel-Air is filled with such mommy moments.

With "Sweet Home Alabama," her romantic comedy opening tomorrow, Witherspoon seems poised to take the America's sweetheart crown from Julia Roberts. She can easily slide into that role, and her "Alabama" co-star Josh Lucas knows why.

"Reese has amazing comedic instincts. She's very much an actor's actor, and that's really rare for a movie star," Lucas says.

Witherspoon, who appears on the "Late Show With David Letterman" on CBS at 10:30 p.m. tonight, is also one of the rare actresses who can open a movie, though she's more likely to be seen at her daughter's preschool than at Hollywood parties or clubs. She prefers evenings at home with husband Ryan Phillippe, whom she met while filming "Cruel Intentions," and their 3-year-old, Ava.

She appears more petite and youthful in person than on screen, dressed in a stylish pale yellow blouse and faded jeans. Her hair hangs straight, and her peaches-and-cream complexion shows no trace of makeup. Of course, she's fresh-faced and beautiful, but her manner is so unprepossessing that she can go out and not get hounded for autographs.

"Nobody's ever recognized me at the grocery store," she says. "Well, maybe they do and they don't say anything."

Grocery shopping and family time are what this down-home gal is about. When she and Ava recently were reading "The Giving Tree," "I started to cry," she says, while intoning a mock sob. "And the tree was happy." (Sniffle, muffled sob.) "The end." (She claps an imaginary book shut.) "Mommy's OK. She's just got her allergies."

Witherspoon and husband Ryan Phillippe, amusing each other at an L.A. Lakers game in March, met on the set of "Cruel Intentions."

Ava just started preschool, and again, "Lots of tears. Not on her part. She was like, 'Buh-Bye, Mom. Leave.' And then I go to Toys 'R' Us, wander around and cry. It's pathetic. Or I go over to my girlfriend's house, where she has a 2-year-old, and I just hug on him."

Those Southern turns of phrases crop up occasionally. Born in New Orleans but raised in Tennessee, she'll say "y'all" and admits to demanding a "sit-to" when she's upset. She has fond recollections of her childhood.

"There was always a sense of humor in our family. My mom and dad were doctors. My mom was a very positive woman who was also very funny and silly, a Southern eccentric."

"Alabama" definitely struck a chord.

"I remember being embarrassed to tell people I was from Tennessee," Witherspoon recalls. "Everybody would just make terrible fun of me: 'What, do y'all walk around barefoot, and are you married to your cousin?' In this movie, I liked exploring the idea that you have to reject your family, or your upbringing or the town you're from in order to ultimately accept it as part of you."

She plays a small-town girl who moves to New York, re-invents herself and becomes a famous designer.

"She wasn't your typical romantic comedy heroine. She goes into a bar and has too much to drink and tells everybody off because she thinks she's better. I like the idea of playing a flawed human being."

But a character should have some redeeming qualities, shouldn't it?

"When I read 'Legally Blonde'," she says, "I was like, 'She's from Beverly Hills, she's rich, she's in a sorority. She has a great boyfriend. Oh, yeah, she gets dumped. Who cares? I still hate her.' So we had to make sure she was the kind of person you just can't hate."

Witherspoon lives near Beverly Hills herself, is rich and has a great husband, but we could never hate her. She's too darn likable.

"She's just so completely adorable and smart and honest and talented," says Alexander Payne, who directed her in the quirky 1999 comedy "Election." "She's got that quality that men find attractive, while women would like to be her friend. But that's just the foundation. Nobody else is as funny or brings such charm to things. She can do anything."

Her mother used to call her "Little Type A," so Witherspoon named her production company Type A. It's as if she was so well brought up that she doesn't hear the siren calls that seduce many actors her age.

"My Southern upbringing has been real beneficial to me in this industry: being conscientious about people's feelings, being polite, being responsible and never taking for granted what you have in your life."

Grateful she is, but she's aware of her shortcomings.

"I was never a 6-5 supermodel babe; I'm a 5-2 little thing. I identify more with the Holly Hunters and the Sally Fields than, say, Michelle Pfeiffer. Those people always represented a real dedication to their work, an incredible work ethic and a lack of vanity.

"Not that those women aren't beautiful, but it's not what their self-worth is based on. I don't know them personally, but that's the impression I get watching their work. Those were the women that I was trying to be like."

By all accounts, Witherspoon has her feet firmly on the ground.